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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-05-01 Cost of Government Commission Minutesjq04.,yy COST OF GOVERNMENT COMMISSION c/o Office of the Corporation Counsel, 101 Aupuni Street, Suite 325, Hilo, Hawaii 96720 MINUTES - AS AMENDED Thursday, May 1, 2014 — 1:00 p.m. County of Hawaii Aging and Disability Resource Center 1055 Kino`ole Street, Suite 101 Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Commission Members present: Susan Maddox, Chair Ashley Kierkiewicz, Vice Chair (arrived at 1:13 p.m.) Douglas Espejo Linda M. Kelly John Mitchell Delan Perry Also present: Katherine A. Garson, Assistant Corporation Counsel Jennifer M. Kualii, Secretary 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chair Maddox at 1:00 p.m. 2. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC None. 3. CORRESPONDENCE Motion and Vote (Comm. No. 2014 -080): Mr. Perry moved to file this communication. The motion was seconded by Ms. Kelly and all commissioners present voted aye. Motion (Comm. No. 2014 -081): Mr. Mitchell moved to file this communication. The motion was seconded by Ms. Kelly. Discussion: Mr. Mitchell said this letter was very helpful Vote: All commissioners present voted aye to file this communication. Hawai `i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer Motion and Vote (Comm. No. 2014 -082): Mr. Mitchell moved to file this communication. The motion was seconded by Mr. Perry and all commissioners present voted aye. Motion and Vote (Comm. No. 2014 -083): Mr. Perry moved to file this communication. The motion was seconded by Mr. Mitchell and all commissioners present voted aye. Motion (Comm. No. 2014 -084): Mr. Mitchell moved to file this communication. The motion was seconded by Mr. Perry. Discussion: Mr. Mitchell said the letter was well written; it showed passion and it came across in the letter. Vote: All commissioners present voted aye. 4. DISCUSSION ON RESPONSES RECEIVED FROM DEPARTMENTS, EMPLOYEES AND BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS Ms. Maddox stated at the last meeting, it was discussed whether or not a reminder was to be sent to those departments who have not responded. She is concerned that if a reminder letter is sent out it will extend the timeline for responses as opposed to just setting up appointments and meeting with the departments. Ms. Kelly said the departments shouldn't be cut loose because they have a responsibility to reply. Ms. Garson suggested meeting with the departments might be easier. For example, a response from the County Council would require them to put it on the agenda and having a discussion. The new legislative auditor's first day is today and not sure what kind of response the Commission would get because the legislative auditor might feel it's a conflict of interest for them because they do audits. Ms. Garson said she understands why some departments are not responding. Ms. Maddox said they will follow up and schedule the appointments with the department heads and take the letter that was sent to them along with the recommendations from the last report as opposed to giving them another opportunity to respond in writing. Ms. Kelly agreed. Ms. Garson thinks it will be more effective. Mr. Mitchell thinks it will begin that personal relationship with the departments and to let them know the Commission is here to make those extra efforts. Mr. Perry said if there is some problem, they can bring it back to the meeting and discuss. Ms. Garson stated the emails went out to the departments and the subcommittee members were copied on the emails so the departments are already expecting a call. Ms. Maddox thinks this Commission received a pretty good response from the letters that went out. Mr. Mitchell agreed. K 5. DISCUSSION REGARDING SUBCOMMITTEES' MEETING WITH VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES FOR THE PURPOSE OF GATHERING INFORMATION FOR THE FINAL REPORT Ms. Maddox asked if anyone wanted to include other questions to the matrix for discussion with the departments. Mr. Perry thinks this is a good place to start and can add if they need too. Ms. Kelly would like to know if there was a cost analysis done in the past that could be shared with the Commission. Ms. Garson said it is a specific question that needs to be asked of each department. Ms. Kelly said maybe a recommendation the Commission could make to certain departments is to have a cost analysis done for certain items. Mr. Mitchell agreed. Ms. Maddox noted at the last meeting there was discussion of getting a general matrix of some questions to ask across all departments to be consistent, as well as being able to ask individualized questions. She asked if there were any other particular things that maybe weren't considered the last time that should be added to the matrix. Ms. Maddox made note of Ms. Kelly's suggestion to ask departments about cost analysis and Mr. Mitchell's inquiry of caring for the aina. Ms. Maddox asked if everyone was clear on the matrix. All agreed. Mr. Perry said they'll try it out once and figure it out. Ms. Kelly agreed and asked if it should be sent to the departments ahead of time to get them prepared. Ms. Kierkiewicz didn't think so; the letter was clear in terms of what information they would be looking for. Mr. Espejo inquired about police officers directing traffic along the Hamakua coast. He understands the County is mandated to use them at a cost of about $47 -$57 /hour and wondered if security agencies could be used for half the cost. Ms. Garson said those are special duty officers that are hired. She explained that when the County has a construction project and traffic needs to be directed, the contractor actually contracts with the special duty officer and gets paid by the contractor not the County. Ms. Maddox said she has used them for traffic control at special events and the officers are paid separately by whomever contracts them; she said there is an administrative fee that goes to the police department for the paperwork. Ms. Maddox confirmed their matrix form is ready to go and everyone is ready to begin making contact with their various departments. Ms. Kualii sent out the emails to the departments so they are expecting their calls. Ms. Maddox asked if there were other people that were new to their department other than the legislative auditor. Ms. Garson didn't think so. Ms. Garson informed Mr. Mitchell that for the County Council, unless the correspondence is agendized for one of their meetings for discussion, he could talk to the Chairman or meet individually with each member, however what is discussed with one member is not to be shared with another member. Ms. Garson informed the Commission that when completing the matrix and it gets passed around for the group to discuss, it is public record so be cautious about how and what is written. She offered to review the forms to ensure that in case there K3 is a complaint about a specific person, names are not compromised. Ms. Maddox thanked Ms. Garson for the offer. Ms. Maddox is of the understanding that the subcommittees are already set up and procedurally there cannot be any changes. Ms. Garson replied that nothing has been done yet so now would be the time to make any changes. Ms. Maddox was thinking if there were others who would be willing to support Mr. Mitchell or Mr. Espejo since they have a couple departments they are working on their own, if not, they'll move forward with the subcommittees set up. Mr. Mitchell said he's going to depend on legal counsel, Ms. Maddox and Ms. Kualii to help out. Ms. Kierkiewicz asked what is the timeframe to complete all the interviews. Ms. Maddox said by September 4t" all the interviews should be completed and working towards a November 6t" deadline for a draft report. The report is due on January 15, 2015. Ms. Kierkiewicz asked if there is to be a physical presentation of the report to the Mayor and Council. Ms. Garson replied no. Ms. Garson noted there was a comment earlier about giving the departments an opportunity to review the draft report. Ms. Maddox said the police chief did request an opportunity to review his recommendations. Ms. Maddox said they have not touched on what format the report will take. She liked the format of the last report, there was a little bit of context, an overview and general recommendations and specific recommendations and it flowed nicely. Ms. Maddox likes the notion of continuing to refine a process that's in place rather than reinventing the wheel. Mr. Mitchell agreed. Ms. Garson said if she recalls correctly, everyone had input and in the end, it was to make the report readable. Ms. Garson asked that when the subcommittees get done with their meetings, if they could send the completed matrix to Ms. Kualii to be placed on the agenda for discussion. Ms. Kelly asked if okay to contact their subcommittee partner by phone — she does not have a phone list. Ms. Garson asked if all Commissioners consent to having their phone numbers given out each commissioner. All agreed. Consent will be needed from Mr. Masuda as he was not present at the meeting. Ms. Maddox asked if six commissioners were in the room, could they Facetime Mr. Masuda to get his consent. Ms. Garson replied no. 6. ITEMS TO BE PLACED ON NEXT AGENDA 7. DISCUSSION REGARDING LOCATIONS /DATES /TIMES OF FUTURE MEETINGSIVIDEO CONFERENCING Ms. Maddox asked the Commissioners if they could use the month of May to do as many interviews as they could and then meet again on the first Thursday in June E rather than meeting on May 15th. All commissioners agreed. Ms. Maddox clarified there will be no meeting on May 15th; next meeting will be held on June 5th Ms. Maddox asked if there could be a generic discussion of meeting results or feedback. Ms. Garson said she would revise the description for agenda item #5 to cover that. Ms. Maddox noted agenda items #6 and #7 will be standing items for the agenda. Ms. Garson said if communications come in, agenda item #3 will be added. Ms. Garson updated the Commission regarding the meeting site in Waimea, which is Councilwoman Wille's office, for videoconferencing. They informed us that we could use their facility; however the area for the videoconferencing is in their actual office and not a separate room. It would involve coordination with their office so the meeting would not disturb their daily work. Ms. Garson said the meetings will continue to be held in Hilo and Kona. 8. ANNOUNCEMENTS The next meeting of the Cost of Government Commission will be held on June 5, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. at the Puna Conference Room, 25 Aupuni Street, Hilo, Hawaii 96720 and videoconferencing available at the West Hawaii Civic Center, Mayor's Conference Room. Ms. Kelly stated the meeting time was changed to 1:00 p.m. to accommodate Mr. Masuda. She asked if they wanted to re- evaluate this and consider having the meetings in the morning. Ms. Kierkiewicz, Mr. Mitchell, Ms. Maddox and Mr. Perry prefer having the meetings begin at 1:00 p.m. Ms. Maddox thanked Ms. Kelly for bringing this to their attention. The meeting start time will remain at 1:00 p.m. 9. ADJOURNMENT Motion and Vote: Mr. Perry moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion was seconded by Ms. Kelly and all commissioners present voted aye. Meeting adjourned at 1:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted: /s/ Jennifer M. Kualii Jennifer M. Kualii, Secretary 61